The present invention relates to a printer used for a point-of-sale (POS) transaction for example such as an electronic cash register, and particularly relates to a printer provided with a cutter device for cutting recording paper so that it has arbitrary length or cutting recording paper with a left or remaining part after cutting partly provided.
Heretofore, for this type cutter device, a cutter device which is provided with a fixed blade and a movable blade installed with a transport path between them and which cuts recording paper by moving the movable blade and crossing it and the fixed blade is well-known.
The cutter device includes a movable blade formed by tilting its line to the tip by a predetermined angle with a direction in which the movable blade is moved, and recording paper is cut continuously from one side to the other side. Such a cutter device is disclosed in Japanese published unexamined patent application No. Hei4-365589.
Also, for another example showing prior art, a cutter device includes a movable blade with a notched line to the tip that is moved, and recording paper is cut from both sides. Such a cutter device is disclosed in Japanese published unexamined patent application No Hei1-289697 and Japanese published examined patent application No. Hei8-22517.
Further, a cutter device includes movable blades installed on the right and left sides of a transport path so that they can be turned, and recording paper is cut from both sides according to a clipping method. Such a cutter device is disclosed in Japanese published unexamined patent application No. Hei.5-104484.
However, such conventional type cutter devices have the following problems.
In the case of such types of cutters, it is required to prevent cut recording paper from being lost before an operator catches it, and the recording paper is partly left after cutting.
As for the cutter device disclosed in Japanese published unexamined patent application No. Hei4-365589, as a left part after cutting is on the side of the recording paper and a transport path is formed so that the width is slightly wider than the width of recording paper, there can be occurrences that the left part after cutting is wide because the position of the recording paper is biased right or left, and it is difficult to fix the width of a left part after cutting.
If a left part after cutting is wide, there is a problem that the recording paper on a transport path is pulled out when an operator tears off the left part after cutting the recording paper, a trace of the torn left part is diagonal, and a bad impression of it is made. Conversely, if a left part after cutting is too narrow, there is a problem that the left part is torn off before an operator catches it.
In the meantime, the cutter device disclosed in Japanese published examined patent application No. Hei.8-22517 does not have the above problems, however, as a left part after cutting is in the center of the width of the recording paper, there is a problem that cut recording paper is tilted right or left, its posture is not stable, and it is difficult for an operator to catch it. As the condition of right and left notched blades varies, a load applied to the movable blades becomes unbalanced, the movable blades are tilted, stable cutting is disabled, and the quality of cutting may be deteriorated if a left part after cutting is shifted from the center of the width of the recording paper to solve the above problem.
Also, as for the cutter device disclosed in Japanese published unexamined patent application No. Hei5-104484, as space is required on both right and left sides of a transport path to provide the rotating shaft of movable blades according to a clipping method on both sides of the transport path, there is a problem that the whole printer is large-sized in the direction of the width.
The present invention is made to solve the above problems of prior art, and the object is to provide a cutter device wherein the recording paper can be torn with a light stable force, a torn trace looks nice, and in addition, the position of a left part after cutting the recording paper can be set to a position shifted from the center of the width and the size in the direction of the width of the recording paper is miniaturized. A printer using the cutter device is also provided.
A cutter device according to the present invention is provided with a fixed blade arranged in the vicinity of one side of a transport path for carrying recording paper, and a first movable blade moved from a position where the first movable blade is opposed to the fixed blade with the transport path toward a direction approximately orthogonal to the transport path to slidably cross the fixed blade. A second movable blade is arranged adjacent the first movable blade at a predetermined position in a direction of the width of recording paper, which is moved from a position where the second movable blade is opposed to the fixed blade with the transport path toward a direction approximately orthogonal to the transport path to slidably cross the fixed blade. A driving mechanism is provided for moving the first movable blade and the second movable blade.
According to the above configuration, as the first and second movable blades which are moved from a position where the first movable blade is opposed to the fixed blade with the transport path toward a direction approximately orthogonal to the transport path to slidably cross the fixed blade, a left part after cutting of recording paper can be set to a position other than the side of the recording paper, and the dispersion of the width of the left part is reduced, pulling recording paper with stable force is enabled, and it is enabled to make a torn trace look nice.
In addition, in the case of the present invention, as the first and second movable blades are separately included and the condition of cutting is independent, the difference in the condition of cutting between both blades has no bad effect upon each, even if a left part after cutting is shifted from the center of the width of the recording paper.
Further, according to the present invention, as two movable blades approximately equal to the width of recording paper are included, a small-sized cutter can be provided.
Also, a cutter device according to the present invention is provided with a fixed blade arranged in the vicinity of one side of a transport path for carrying recording paper, and a first movable blade pivotally supported about a pivot so that the first movable blade is moved from a position where the first movable blade is opposed to the fixed blade with the transport path toward a direction across the transport path to slidably cross the fixed blade. A second movable blade is moved from a position where the second movable blade is opposed to the fixed blade toward a direction approximately orthogonal to the transport path to slidably cross the fixed blade. A driving mechanism is provided for moving the first movable blade and the second movable blade.
According to the above configuration, as the so-called scissors-type movable blade is used for the first movable blade, a driving force for moving the first movable blade can be reduced, particularly, if the first and second movable blades are included so that they are interlocked, the driving mechanism can be simplified, and a driving force for moving both movable blades can be reduced. Further, as only the first movable blade is of a scissors type, the size in the direction of the width of recording paper is not required to be increased, and in addition, the cutter with the sharpness of the blades can be provided.
It is also effective that the present invention is included so that the first and second movable blades are interlocked by the link mechanism.
According to the above configuration, the first and second movable blades can be driven by one driving motor, and a cutter with a simple configuration can be acquired.
It is also effective that the present invention is included so that an engaging part is provided to the first and second movable blades, and the first and second movable blades are interlocked by engaging the engaging portions.
According to the above configuration, as the link mechanism is not required, a cutter device with a further simple configuration can be acquired.
Further, in the case of the present invention, as a fixed blade supporting mechanism by which the fixed blade can be separated from the first and second movable blades is provided, setting of recording paper is facilitated, and removal of jammed paper in a paper jam is also easy.
With a printer incorporating the cutter device of the invention, the size in the direction of the width of recording paper is not required to be increased, a force required for tearing off the recording paper hardly varies, a torn trace of a left part after cutting of the recording paper looks nice, and in addition, the position of the left part of the recording paper can be arbitrarily set.